March 19, 2002
ON TAP: The eighth-ranked Arizona State women's tennis team (9-3) will head out onto the road to Austin, Texas to face the seventh-ranked Longhorns (8-3) on Thursday, March 21 at 12:00 p.m. Last year, Arizona State defeated Texas, 5-2 in Tempe.
LAST TIME OUT: The Sun Devils continue to post impressive wins, recording their second straight shutout and third of the year, this time a 7-0 win against Purdue University at the Whiteman Tennis Center. In the nine victories this year, Arizona State has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 53-10. The Sun Devils jumped to the early 1-0 lead and never looked back as they won two of the three doubles matches for the first point. In singles action, Arizona State dropped only one set the entire dual as they swept all six singles matches.
FROM THE ROAD TO HOME: The 2002 schedule had the Sun Devils on the road for their first five dual matches, including their first three Pac-10 matches. ASU finished that stretch with an impressive 4-1 mark. However, when ASU finished that road stretch they returned home for the entire month of March (nine consecutive duals) except for one dual this Thursday at Texas. Currently ASU is 5-2 during its initial homestand. The home court advantage extends into the first week of April as well, before ending the season on the road in the Bay Area and down the road in Tucson.
HOME SWEET HOME: Over the past five seasons, Arizona State holds an impressive 58-15 (.795) overall dual record at the Whiteman Tennis Center. ASU is 5-2 this season, while posting a 16-1 mark last season.
NEW FACES: ASU welcomes three new players to this year's team. Freshman Joslynn Burkett (La Jolla, Calif.) compiled a 51-0 record in 2000 and was named CIF Player of the Year. Fellow freshman Lauren Colalillo (Toronto, Canada) was ranked in the top seven of the Canadian Juniors from under 14 to under 18. She also finished fourth in both doubles and singles for the under 18 Outdoor Nationals, and won the under 18 Indoor Canadian National in both singles and doubles. Sophomore Dora Krstulovic (Split, Croatia) was the National Champion in 1994-1996 and Participated in four junior Grand Slams.
HEAD COACH SHEILA McINERNEY: Sheila McInerney enters her 18th season at the helm of the Sun Devil program after leading her team to its sixth quarterfinal NCAA appearance in 10 years. ASU has made NCAA tournaments in 16 of McInerney's 17 seasons. ASU highlights from 2001 include a 20-6 overall record (McInerney's third 20-plus win season and her highest winning percentage as a head coach (.769)), an All-American selection, an All-Conference selection, the school's first Pac-10 Conference singles champion, four players earning national rankings and three academic All-Conference honorees. ASU ended the year as the seventh best team in the country. Additionally, McInerney was selected as the head coach of the 2001 USA Tennis Collegiate team. The USA Tennis Collegiate team, an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players, is administered by the USTA and ITA.
SUN DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS: Adria Engel checks in at No. 24 and Dora Krstulovic comes in at No. 52.